Kessler's Stats Rank Atop NCAA

Christina Kessler’s final line from the No. 1 Harvard women’s hockey team’s 4-0 victory over Dartmouth on Sunday—18 saves and no goals allowed while picking up a win—indicated a run-of-the-mill performance for the sophomore goaltender. But for Kessler, a routine night usually translates into a vicotry for the Crimson.

“She did what’s expected of her,” Crimson coach Katey Stone said. “Nothing special, but solid.”

Harvard (17-1-0, 14-0-0 ECAC) controlled possession of the puck for most of the game, rattling off 43 shots while the Crimson defense ensured that Big Green attacks on the net came few and far between.

When Dartmouth did manage to get shots off on goal, they rarely posed a threat, and Kessler was able to stop the puck or swat it away harmlessly.

“The team played very well in front of me,” Kessler said. “There were a few close calls at times but my team did a great job of letting me see the puck.”

But while the Harvard defensive unit did not allow the Big Green to give Kessler many opportunities to show off her skills between the posts, what made the netminder’s outing impressive was the final result—a 4-0 shutout—and what it represented.

The clean sheet was Kessler’s eighth on the year, breaking the Crimson’s single-season shutout record.

The previous mark of seven was set by former Harvard standout Ali Boe ’06 in the 2003-04 campaign.

“Obviously it feels great to know that I’ve accomplished something really good,” Kessler said. “I think a lot of the credit has to go to my team though because they’ve been playing amazing in front of me.”

Kessler’s record-breaking afternoon boosted her already stellar numbers on the season, leaving her at or near the top of every major statistical category for goalies in the NCAA.

She paces the nation with a miniscule 0.88 goals against average, and her eight shutouts place her in a tie for first. Kessler’s .957 save percentage is good for second in the country, putting her right behind No.3 Minnesota-Duluth’s Kim Martin and her .958 clip.

“She’s playing well,” Stone said. “She certainly has command of the position.”

That sense of command could have been derailed on Dec. 14, when the Crimson traveled to New Hampshire riding high on a season-opening 11-game winning streak and holding the top spot in the national rankings.

Kessler tied a career worst by giving up four goals in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Wildcats. She also recorded eight saves in the loss, seven of which came in the game’s opening period.

Harvard lost both its No. 1 ranking and its undefeated record all in one night as it headed into Winter Recess.

But both Kessler and the Crimson rebounded to come out of the break playing a dominant brand of hockey. Sunday’s matchup against Dartmouth proved the culmination of a six-game stretch in which Harvard regained its No. 1 ranking and Kessler played almost perfectly in front of the net, giving up only two goals in that span.

“You do have bad games,” Kessler said. “You do let some goals in. But as [Stone] says, ‘It’s not the mistakes you make; it’s the way you bounce back.’ I really took that to heart.”

Now as the Crimson moves into the stretch run of the regular season, Kessler looks to build on her record-setting performance against Dartmouth and continue to play a crucial role in maintaining Harvard’s winning ways.

“I have confidence and I think the team has confidence in me,” Kessler said. “I go in there and I know that they know that I’m going to get the job done.”

—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.